Convertiblebody



April l0, 1928.`

R. BERINGER CONVERTIBLE BODY Filed 1390.1. 1924l fz n `2 Sheets-snee?l l 1 ATTORNEY April 1o, 192s. y 1,665,294

R. BERINGER CONVERTIBLE BODY Filed Decfl. 1924- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ,$0550 gef.; eZ BY f.' m5 SAM Patented Apr. 1%0, lQZS..

`Rosoonv BER-ineen, ornnrn-ornmierrrsan, assrenonro eEnnRALr/ro'rons oon-' ronA'rIoN, or nnrnornmronrean, YA-ooaronarron or DELAWARE.

CONVERTIBLE BODY.

Application filed December 1, 1.924.` Serial No.' 753,248.V

panels. An object of the invention'is to pro-v vide an improved arrangement of this char- Y acter in which the panels :tor thespace above the doors, when not in use, are housed within the doors. Various features of the invention relate to a construction'of the door permitting the use of a. panel having one edge inA vertical alinement with an edge of the door; to a` novel arrangement of the operating handlefor vthe locking of the ldoor permitting' it to be moved to a position'in which itdoes not obstructthe movement of the panel from its position within the'door, and preferably an arrangement in 'which this handle normal-vv ly holds the covering fiior the panel in closed position; and to a novel arrangement including a spring'pressed latch holding when in its upper position.

These features of the invention, and vari` ous novel desirable details of construction, will be apparent from theollowingdescrip tion of one Villustrative embodiment shownl I door. In the arrangement shown iii-Figurey 3 a turn-button 38 is provided to holdjthe`V in the accompanying drawings, in which :l

Figure '1 is a side elevation of an antoniobile body, with the panels in their upper'ory closed position, and partlybroken away toshow a novel removable pillar-for the space between the two doors;

Figure 2 is a similar side the body is open;

'Figure 3 is an inside elevation of one of the doors with the panel in its upper position elevation when and partly broken away to show some of the interior mechanism;

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the door looking in the direction of the arrows 4 4 of Figure 3, but with the cover for the panel vpartly open;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5 5 ot Y Figure 8 showing the movement of the panel from upper to lower position;

AFigure 6 is atop plan view of the door when the panel is housed within the door;

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view on the line 7-7 of Figure?) showing the spring pressed latch holding the panel in its upper position; i Figure 8 is a detailed view showing a spring pressed bolt holding the removable pillar' between the two doors; A l Figure 9 is an inside elevation of a modithe panel fied 'form oihandle forthe lock of the door; anc Figure l0 visa shown in' Figure Y9.- v'In the arrangement; selected for illustra? tOP Planfview ofthehandle' i tion,` the'inventionis "embodied in an automobile body 2O and atop 22, shown as a per'- manenty top. .The space betweenthe topland Vthe vbodyrearlwardly ofthe doors maybe closed, when desired, b panel/246i' any desir-ed construction. Ibach of thezdoorsf'26 and 28, on` the same side' of the body, has hinged at its upperedgefone of the two panels Y30 and '32. The hinges 34, carrying kthe panel, are shown in Figure 3. Eachpan'el consists ,of Ya sheet of glass, `Aand a metal` frame generally Hishapedin crossesection, to forman inner channel embracingthe edge ofthe glass andan outer channel embracingl projecting rubber weather or sealing. strips. The panel'maybe moved from' an upper'po-l sition in which'it closes vthe space between;

the .top and the door, as shown in Figure; l

to a position-in which itis housed ina recess' within 'the door,` the recess being protected by a*VV cover'86 hinged at one side of the l cover c los'ed.A -In this arrangementtheinside operatingfhandle 40 forfthe'lock of theoloorAv Y1s pivotedso thatit can-bemoved intothe dotted line position in Figure 6 Where itA l docs not obstruct the opening ot'l the cover,

v or the lifting of the panel. Another desirlnotch 44 in its hub, thenotch extending through approximately o so that its upper edge engages a set screw or the like V46 projecting fromthe operating shaft 48 kof the lock so that pushing down on the handle operates the lock. At .the same .time the length of the notch 44 is such that the han- Y dle can be moved into thedotted-lineposi tion in Figure 9, where it does not obstruct movementof the cover or the panel, without affecting the lock. The handle 42 is madey with a retaining projection or ange 50 which engages the cover 36 when the handle is in its operative position to holdthe cover closed. ln this .arrangement no `other fastening means for the cover is required.,

In its upper position 'the panel 30 or 32 is held by a spring latch member 52 yield! ingly urged upward into operative posit-ion by a spring 54 andarranged to be depressed to release the panel by Va finger piece 56y ac- Y cessible through anv opening in the top of vthel cover-36. y y v f Y In theparticular arrangement illustrated,

.i the doors 26 and 28 are both hinged at their rear edges, the door 28 closing against adoor post 60. In line with the doorpost 6() is a pillar 62vpivotedrin a socket in ,the edgeof thetop so that it may be moved into the full Vline position shown in Figure l, or may be swung upwardly to behoused in the recess in the top. As shown in Figure 8, the pillar is held in either position by a spring pressed `1vatch"64 operated bya finger piece `66 lpro-V Y, cting into an opening 68 l,Where itis accessible to the driver.

VIn order to permit the panel 82 at its rear edge to be in Vertical alinement with the rear Vedgeof the'door 28, as viewed from the out,-

i Y sideof the car, thev door is provided With an extension or offset 70, as shown in'Figure 6,' Y i into which thestorage'space for the'panel This offset is concealed by an exextends. f Y

panel or. pillar tensionl of the adjacent body asindicated at 7,1.V

' MVWhen the panels are in their upper posi- Vtions, I consider it desirable that they should beinclined slightly so that the upper edgeof each panel Will engagefahorizontal ledge or flange 72 projecting downwardly f romthe top, .just before the door is com 1 pletely closed.u This arrangement provides V.for holding the panel under some tension when the door is closed to prevent itfrom Y rattling.

While one illustrative embodiment "of the i .invention has been described in detail, it is not my intention to ,limit its scopeto that particular embodiment, or Votherwise than y the terms of the appended claims.

I claim: e

l. A vehicle door yhaving a panelhinged to Y its upper-edge, a cover orthe panel in its lower position, a latch forthe door, and an operating handle for the latch :arranged t0 `hold the cover closed When in' its operativeV position and movable to a ting opening yof the cover.

2L AnY automobile doo position permit- `having a-pQcket for-positioning above the door or for dispo'- sition in said pocket, .a cover for said pocket, a latch for said door, and a latchj'operating lever adapted in normalfposition to hold the coverin pocket closing position.

f3. The combination of ayehicle body', a

door hinged to the body, a pocket formed on the inside of said door, Va panel hinged to said `door and adapted to besWung up to fa position above saiddoor, or'downwardly to a position Within said pocket, thef Walls of said pocket extending beyond the .outside meeting edges oi'4 the body anddoor at rthe `hinged side `of the door .so that When'the Y panel is swung'upwardly one edge .ofthe panel Will be in alinement 'with the'said meeting edges of the body and door.

LvThe combination of l an automobile body, a door hinged to the body,"a pocket formed onthe inside of the door, Ythe door having an extension on its insideapast the outside meeting edges ofthe body andl door at lthe hinged side of the door, the pocket extending into said extension; Y Y In testimonyrwhereof I aiiix my signa'- ture.

K'Rosoon BERINGEYRV. 

